SPORTS BRIEFS

Agencies

AUSTRALIAN RULES

Player accused of assault

The Brisbane Lions said yesterday they were aware of “serious allegations” made against one of their players, reportedly that he tipped a man out of his wheelchair while waiting for a taxi in Brisbane on Sunday night. “The club has launched an immediate investigation into the matter as it had not previously been made aware of the allegations,” it said in a statement. Reports said a 40-year-old man had complained to police on Thursday about the incident in which he was allegedly tossed out of his wheelchair after being approached by a group of players. They then allegedly threw food at him as he lay on the ground and took the taxi he was waiting for, reports said. On Tuesday, another AFL player was fined and forced to apologize to a dwarf entertainer who was set on fire at an end-of-season celebration.

RUGBY UNION

O’Driscoll remains bitter

Brian O’Driscoll admitted on Thursday that he still harbors “resentment” toward British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland over his non-selection for the third Test against Australia earlier this year. The Irish center was dropped by Gatland for the decisive match in Sydney, but the Lions went on to secure a 41-16 victory to win the series. O’Driscoll said he has still not forgiven the New Zealander for the snub. “Yeah, there’s resentment, of course,” O’Driscoll said. The 34-year-old admitted that watching Welshman Jonathan Davies wearing his jersey had been a disappointing conclusion to his fourth and final Lions tour. “When you’re left with disappointment that way, you can’t but feel a little bit of resentment,” he said. “I might have been able to do a decent job within that part of the team, the way they played in that game. That is absolutely not taking anything away from Jonathan’s performance. But I guess it comes back to you backing yourself, feeling you too could have done some things that maybe others didn’t do on the day.”

ICE HOCKEY

Burke moves to Flames

Brian Burke, who helped assemble the 2007 Anaheim Ducks’ Stanley Cup winning team, has been hired as the president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames, the NHL team said on Thursday. “To be able to bring in someone who has won a Stanley Cup, it’s a great thing,” said Flames general manager Jay Feaster. The well-traveled Burke most recently worked as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks after being sacked as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Burke also served as general manager with Anaheim, Vancouver and Hartford. Burke said at a news conference on Thursday he would have a background role with the club.

CRICKET

Black Caps name squad

Uncapped leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and all-rounder Corey Anderson have been promoted from the New Zealand A team to the Test squad for a two Test series in Bangladesh next month. Anderson has played for New Zealand in limited-overs internationals, but has not played a Test. “Essentially this squad builds on the team that toured England in May,” new national selection manager Bruce Edgar said in a statement yesterday. “The key was to take a consistent approach to selection and provide continuity for the players.” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said Bangladesh would be a good place to give the leg-spinner an opportunity to continue learning his craft. Injuries to Martin Guptill (finger), Daniel Vettori (Achilles) and Tim Southee (ankle) meant they were not considered for the series, which starts in Chittagong on Oct. 9.